Mumbai couple harassed, fined for hugging outside mall

In a case that reeks of moral policing a couple out to watch a film over the weekend were pulled up by cops in plainclothes dragged to the police station and made to fork out a fine of Rs 1200 for lsquoindecent behaviourrsquo Their crime The woman had her arm around the manrsquos waist while they were sitting on a bench outside a Goregaon mallRuncil Rebello said Cheryl Godinho only had her arm around his waist and there was nothing indecent about itBhayander resident Runcil Rebello 24 was out with his girlfriend Cheryl Godinho 25 to watch a movie at Oberoi Mall in Goregaon East on Saturday Both are content writers for media organisations After watching the film the couple decided to sit on the benches outside the mallrsquos main entrance adjacent to the highway ldquoWe were sitting on the bench and my girlfriendrsquos hand was around my waistThe benches have handles between each seat so there was a fair amount of distance between us Suddenly two men and two women in plainclothes came up to us and said lsquoCome with usrsquordquo recalled Rebello Stunned the couple asked them where and why The group told them they were being taken to the police station and one of them allegedly touched Rebellorsquos arm seemingly to pull him alongAn indignant Godinho protested and shouted thinking it was a moral policing drive by a political party The couple demanded to know who the men and women were but didnrsquot get any response ldquoMy girlfriend was arguing with a woman who seemed to be leading the operationA policeman in uniform probably a constable then showed up on the scene and started recording the argument on his mobile phonerdquo said Rebello who tried to stop the cop from recording It was only then that the woman from the group told Rebello they were policemen in plainclothes She said that he couldnrsquot stop a police official the way he was trying to and threatened to book him for misconduct against a copDoing too muchThe couple then asked the men and women to show their IDs to prove that they were cops ldquoThe policewoman who had been doing all the talking took out her ID flashed it for a moment and put it back in her pocket even before I could read the namerdquo said RebelloThe cops then told the couple they had been watching them from their van and that they had been lsquodoing too many thingsrsquo They took the couple to the Dindoshi police station where they were told to pay Rs 1200 for lsquobehaving indecentlyrsquo in public They were allowed to leave only after the fine was paidThe receipt was issued in the name of the woman Justifying the copsrsquos behaviour a police officer said ldquoMany college couples and others indulge in such obscene acts in public Families and young children go to these places and are forced to turn their heads away Couples shouldnrsquot indulge in such acts in public itrsquos very bad for society and childrenrdquoHe added that every police station forms a squad consisting of a woman officer woman constable and two male policemen The squads in plainclothes patrol public places in their jurisdiction especially those that are frequented by families and women mdash and catch people who misbehave or ogle at women The squads also take couples indulging in any ldquoobscene actrdquo in public to the police station and fine themRebello and Godinho were charged under Section 110 of the Bombay Police Act which disallows any lsquoindecent behaviour in publicrsquo The charge can be contested in court In a similar case in 2012 a man was charged for indecency when he planted a peck on a girlrsquos cheek in Khar The man fought the charge in court for a year and was acquitted in 2013